Oldest thing in your closet?

[jaysonsmom]

As I was flipping through old pictures tonight, I realized I am a semi hoarder when it comes to clothes! I have a pair of denim overalls from my college days, a sweater (mediocre quality from Express) that is from my mid-20’s, and dress pants from my first post-college job interview!

That makes these clothes 20-30 years old! Do you have clothes from the good ‘ol days?

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

As I was flipping through old pictures tonight, I realized I am a semi hoarder when it comes to clothes! I have a pair of denim overalls from my college days, a sweater (mediocre quality from Express) that is from my mid-20’s, and dress pants from my first post-college job interview!

That makes these clothes 20-30 years old! Do you have clothes from the good ‘ol days?

don't be too hard on yourself
things, even cheap casuals were better made even 20 years ago

i have a long sleeved white tee shirt of my friend's she gave me before she went to police college in the mid 90s
i have a mini denham jacket/ vest from the same era and a denham dress i wore at the doo after my army passing out parade
So a lot of stuff from 90s, pretty dresses especially the late 90s after i moved to the North Island
most of it is made in NZ which is pretty unheard of today unless you shop boutiques or designer

oh i have a really pretty cream cardi with gold thread that was my MILs - maybe from the 80s ???
too bad i don't fit it for this Christmas
and i have a lovelly green chiffon type shirt of her's with pretty embroidery

oh - i have my dress from my 21st - airforce blue with a pillbox hat aka Princess Di
1992
unfortnatly not my formal (prom) dress from 1987
i can think of a few pieces from the late 80s i wish i had kept

oh and i have the woolen coat and hat my dad wore to watch the rugby - that must be mid 80s

opps remembered
i have the long woolen black coat my mum brought me when i first went to work in 1990
i remember it cost $300 (made in NZ) and my sister was very jelouse but mum was just trying to keep me warm - ive replaced the buttons

otherwise my swandry - a long woolen lumber jack type coat one wears hiking or working outside - i brought that from work in 1990 - that's so thin now ive been meaning to replace it for years
my dryzabone riding coat i also brought from work in the mid 90s
i have had to repair a rip on the sleeve on that one

two velvet dresses i brought in South Africa in 1991 - a short zebra print and a long dark blue one
need to go on diet ......

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

have my dad's mid 1970s teery toweling sun hat. its threadbare but I've kept it all these years
it used to live on the hot water cylinder in our linnen cupboard at our old place but now it lives in the hall cupboard with our coats

Technically its still wearable- it would keep the sun off - its very faded purplie pink and white
i remember him wearing it when he built our house

oddly all i have of mum's is a white hanky

 

[jaysonsmom]

@Daisys and Diamonds, you sure have me beat!. I’m sure I have a lot more that I list if I counted nice cocktail dresses and jackets/coats. Some of them are classics that never go out of style and in materials (like a soft leather jacket) that never fade or age. I just can’t imagine why I would keep old sweaters, T-shirts or nightgowns with holes!

 

[jaysonsmom]

My dad has this robe (plaid dressing gown) that is older than me, and I’m 48! He still wears it every winter, over his PJs. Do men even wear things like that anymore? I just realized that I must take after him!

 

[Bron357]

I still have a gorgeous pair of silk brocade trousers I bought hoping to lose “just a bit” so as to fit into them.
That was 35 odd years ago, they are size 36 (I guess US2 equv), when I was fit, slim and trim and almost an 36.
Hmmmm, not likely now!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@Daisys and Diamonds, you sure have me beat!. I’m sure I have a lot more that I list if I counted nice cocktail dresses and jackets/coats. Some of them are classics that never go out of style and in materials (like a soft leather jacket) that never fade or age. I just can’t imagine why I would keep old sweaters, T-shirts or nightgowns with holes!

Long rambling post to follow

you know a couple of times ive found my old PJs in the garage earmarked for car rags ...and i bring them back inside and wash them for another
night !
This winter i almost threw out a pile of old towels but then the little kitten family moved into the laundry and they slept on them so now the kittens are being rehomed by the SPCA im tucking them away for well- you never know when or what ? (i also used them in a plumping emergency/ toilet 'explosion' when the council thought it would be a good idea to blow out imagined blockages out in the street pipes (we obviously had no blockages because the bathroom was like a cartoon afterwards with water raining from the ceiling) so i used all those towels again !)

I have what was a sun dress i now wear as a nightie that is so thin, complete with runs
i go to throw it out but it finds its way to the washing and then its a cold night and i wear it again - i think it needs cut up to back a cat blankie

Somethings just work better old.
We have tons of new tea towels but its the old thin ones that seem to dry the dishes better

Its a pity some of those clothes that cost a lot more arn't being warn till they wear out



Ive made a few sentimental warn-out things to back cat blankets
(not that its sentimental) but the top of some of my old army wool thermals are very holely now on the back of one blankie (time for a remake)
Some of Gary's jerseys (sweaters) have been cut up for cat blankies !!!
Cats do quite well for 'clothes' here

As for me- if i lost a couple of stone i wouldn't need to buy new clothes for years


every couple of years i wash/ air out things and assess if its a timeless well made classic or ...not
Lucky i don't buy much that's ultra trendy so (in my mind) hopefully it ages better

i forgot about a Christmas vest my sister made me when she was in high school
She was a good sewer even before fashion design school
i used to wear that at work Christmas week, it was good quality fabric and it stood up to washing, it would be festivity handy if that still fit !
Maybe by mid winter in June ....

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I was a very rotund kid so I still have some skirts and sweaters that fit me as a 10-11yo that fit me today! They’re in great condition since I outgrew them at age 11-12 so they just sat there till I lost enough weight to fit back into them, 17-18y later I also have some vintage clothes in my closet that I’ve either bought vintage or taken from my mom/grandmom, that are older than I am lol. The oldest garment in my closet is my grandmother’s wedding outfit, which is nearly 70 years old! I’ve yet to wear it but someday I will

 

[missy]

My mom's red peacoat from 1970. I love this coat.

I will admit however I do have many of my clothes still from the 80s. I still fit into them and well it's hard parting with some items.

But I think this red peacoat from my mom is the oldest item I have still in my closet.


This photo is from the late 90s. I have no more recent photos of it. This was before Greg started sewing and it doesn't fit me very well here. It was OK in the 90s as the style was baggy IIRC. Greg has since taken it in to fit me better.




I have had this relined three times so far. I mean 1970 was 50 years ago so that's not too bad.

 

[Tartansparkles]

I have a Nike running top/fleece that must be 20+ years old, I still wear it a couple of times a week

 

[missy]

Just asked Greg what is the oldest thing in his closet (as he is an organizer and gets rid of things all the time). He said his Denim Jacket from 1980. He loves his denim jackets. So do I. I actually have a thrift shop Denim jacket that is pretty old too.

 

[MeowMeow]

Uh I think one of my oldest items might be from middle school lol. So like a little over 20 years old lol. It's comfy pants. I was always wider than most girls my age. Thanks skeleton! And wore clothes way bigger than I was because i felt so bad about having shoulders like a linebacker so stuff from back then tends to fit still lol. Most of my high school and college wardrobe is still at my dad's house. I had planned to go there and go through it and dump a bunch more but COVID.... My husband makes fun of me for keeping clothes so long but I try to keep and use clothes until they fall apart or have holes in inappropriate places.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My mom's red peacoat from 1970. I love this coat.

I will admit however I do have many of my clothes still from the 80s. I still fit into them and well it's hard parting with some items.

But I think this red peacoat from my mom is the oldest item I have still in my closet.


This photo is from the late 90s. I have no more recent photos of it. This was before Greg started sewing and it doesn't fit me very well here. It was OK in the 90s as the style was baggy IIRC. Greg has since taken it in to fit me better.




I have had this relined three times so far. I mean 1970 was 50 years ago so that's not too bad.

Wow !.
It must be excellent quality
Where did you take it to be relined ?
A taylor ? Or an alternations place or a dressmaker ?
I have a jacket that would be so much nicer if it was lined but i don't think im clever enough

 

[mrs-b]

Nothing very old. Got rid of all my old clothes that were too big for me, and today, in fact, DH took a heap of clothes to donate. I saw the list - I can remember he'd listed 50 pairs of trousers....

Let's just say, this was long overdue.

 

[whitewave]

Probably my “senior sweater” from
Senior year in high school.

 

[iluvcarats]

I think it’s a pair of flower doc martens that I bought in 1992 when I was in college. I’m 50 now, and can’t really get away with them anymore, but I do wear them once in a while. My feet are a size 5, so the boots are really cute. They sell for a lot on eBay, but I just can’t get rid of them. They remind of the 90’s, college, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and the greatest generation Generation X.

 

[Begonia]

An Irish wool sweater i bought from Thrift 27 years ago. It was old then!

 

[luv2sparkle]

Seeing Begonia's sweater, I have a sweater an aunt knit for me when I was a teenager. I have my Tri Sig tee shirt from college, and I have a mink wrap that belonged to my aunt that was probably from the late 40's to 50's.

 

[yennyfire]

Tons! My overalls, jeans, sweaters, sweatshirts etc. from high school and college. All between 25-30 years old! My faves!!

 

[qubitasaurus]

I have a dress my grandmother sewed for me, I cant remember when she made it but definitely more than 15-20 years ago. It doesnt get a lot of wear, as it actually doesnt suit my lifestyle at all and doesnt fit so well 20 years later. But I cant make myself let it go either.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Prolly my LV St. Jacques in red epi leather. It's been D/C'd forever. I love it but don't wear it anymore. People used to stop me to ask what kind of bag it was! Also I have some Prada coats and shoes that are old enough but they last forever and are still stylish so they stay.

But my DH is often in my closet--he is OLD so HE needs to go!

cheers--Sharon

 

[caolsen]

As a proof point for buyer high quality, lasting pieces versus fast fashion I have several tweed hunting jackets & high density cotton shirts that are over 30 years old that have seen the worst that horses can throw at them - from mud, to rain to being thrown to the ground. A few jacket liners have been replaced, but they are in great nix. I also have riding boots that are 10 years old and regularly get used in ways that would result imost shoes falling apart.

And I have my high school letterman jacket that a firm in Michigan made the same way in 1943 and they did when I got mine in 1993. It’s the classic wool body and leather arms looks. Thing is bullet proof & as warm as they come.

I also have several original Coach NYC made bags from the late 60’s, early 70’s in great shape. They get stored in my closet - does that count?

 

[Phoenix]

A jumper/sweater my mum knitted when she was carrying me. That's several decades old!! I don't remember whom she originally knitted it for but I've had it all my life.

 

[mommylawyer]

I still wear some skirts I had in high school, which was 30 years ago. I agree that clothes were made better back then.

 

[stracci2000]

I have a cotton kimono that my Dad bought for me when we visited the Japanese Village at Sea World Ohio, back in 1977.

I also have a pair of shoes that I bought in 1988.

But the oldest thing is a 1940s wedding dress that I found in a thrift store. I have a small vintage dress collection.

 

[monarch64]

Hmm. Probably the oldest garment is a Claude Montana black wool pencil skirt circa early 1980s. The item I've had the longest (I think) is a Gunne Sax dress I wore when I was 8-9 that now fits my daughter, who is 8.5. She is 7 in the pic and it's big on her back then. She won't wear it ("it's too itchy") but it was fun to have her try it on and get some pics. I wore it to my cousin's wedding 34 years ago!

I loved this recent article about Tom Ford in which he explains that his clothing is made to last a lifetime and possibly through generations: https://robbreport.com/style/fashion/tom-ford-1234586395/

 

[Matata]

I am the oldest thing in my closet

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Hmm. Probably the oldest garment is a Claude Montana black wool pencil skirt circa early 1980s. The item I've had the longest (I think) is a Gunne Sax dress I wore when I was 8-9 that now fits my daughter, who is 8.5. She is 7 in the pic and it's big on her back then. She won't wear it ("it's too itchy") but it was fun to have her try it on and get some pics. I wore it to my cousin's wedding 34 years ago!

I loved this recent article about Tom Ford in which he explains that his clothing is made to last a lifetime and possibly through generations: https://robbreport.com/style/fashion/tom-ford-1234586395/

Oh shame
Its so pretty
But i can feel that lace scratching my neck and arms
Once apon a time my grandma worked on a lace counter at a posh dept store - eveything she made for us had lace on it
except it was the 70s so lots of orange and brown, not so much pink

Edit
interesting article
Thanks for the link

 

[GliderPoss]

Hmmm until fairly recently I still had a cotton T-shirt from when I was 14 (I'm now 36) so it lasted and still fit for ages. Bought it from Marks & Spencer on a trip overseas with my parents. If second hand goods count - I have my mum's Bally boots from when she was in her early 20's, she is now 70! They need a new zip on one but otherwise in great nick.

 

[inne]

I have some of my mom's clothes from the 70s and 80s. I do not wear them, but I really love them. She was quite fashionable back then! I also have a blouse that belonged to my grandmother and might be from the 60s, but I'm not sure. I do wear that one sometimes.